This invention relates to securing systems and, more particularly, to an ambulance cot frame securing system for an ambulance or other type of patient transport vehicle.
Ambulance cot frame securing systems are known, examples of which are U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,477,815, 5,092 722, 5,205,601 and 5,913,559. As the aforementioned patents illustrate, the cot frame securing systems are basically either floor mounted systems or wall mounted systems. A combination of floor and wall mounted systems are also known.
It is widely accepted that ambulance cots supporting patients thereon need to be firmly restrained in the ambulance or other type of patient transport vehicle in order to keep the ambulance cot firmly restrained in the event that the vehicle undergoes sudden driving maneuvers, or crashes. When a rapid change of velocity occurs, such as will occur during a crash or impact, significant acceleration or deceleration to the patient transport vehicle occurs to cause forces to be applied to the ambulance cot frame causing it to bend, when only one end thereof is secured in place, under the G-force caused by the rapid change in velocity. This distortion in the cot frame will cause the frame to move from its normal engagement with the securing structure on the floor of the patient transport vehicle. The ambulance cot securement mechanism must be able to hold the ambulance cot in place during acceleration forces of 20 G""s in the forward direction, 10 G""s in the vertical direction, 10 G""s in the lateral direction and 10 G""s in the rearward direction, to meet the nationally recognized crash/impact standards.
The mechanism for facilitating the aforesaid securement of the ambulance cot frame to the ambulance or other type of patient transport vehicle is expensive and requires operable mechanisms to facilitate the securement mechanism in place during travel of the vehicle. It has been experienced that these mechanisms, over time, operate hesitatingly which is unacceptable in emergency situations.
Thus, it is desirable to provide an ambulance cot frame securing system that will accommodate cot frame distortions during periods of time where there occurs a sudden acceleration or deceleration by the patient transport vehicle. Furthermore, it is desirable to provide an ambulance cot frame securing system for a patient transport vehicle which facilitates only during instances where G forces in at least one of several specific directions, caused by a rapid change in velocity of the patient transport vehicle, exceeds a predetermined value to cause a self-activating, inertia responsive, locking mechanism to be deployed to lock the cot frame at the other end, thus at both ends, to the vehicle. Otherwise, and under normal driving conditions, the cot frame is secured only at one end for preventing movement of the cot frame relative to the floor along a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis of the cot frame.
The objects and purposes of the invention are met by providing an ambulance cot frame securing system for a patient transport vehicle which includes a floor frame adapted to be secured to a floor of the patient transport vehicle. The floor frame has at a first end thereof a fixed angled restraint inclined upwardly and in a direction toward a second end of the floor frame to define an overhang spaced upwardly from the floor frame so as to provide a gap into which is adapted to be received a first part of the cot frame. The floor frame additionally has a releasable latch mechanism adapted to be releasably coupled to a second part of the cot frame so as to hold the cot frame in a fixed lengthwise location relative to the floor frame. The securement system additionally has a self-activating, inertia responsive, locking mechanism activatable in response only to acceleration or deceleration G forces on the patient transport vehicle which exceed a predetermined value to additionally securely lock the first part of the cot frame relative to the patient transport vehicle.